Tissue Donation/ Trade continues....

I listened to another episode of the story on human tissue business on radio today. This part of the story focused on the scams, rackets, and frauds that had taken place in this $1 billion business. The story focused on one funeral home director from New Jersey who made so much money out of this business that he had heaters installed under his driveway because he didn't want to shovel snow during winters.

This guy is a dentist who had lost his license and yet he lived in style in a mansion with all the comforts. How did he manage this, he simply bought corpses from other funeral homes and sold them to tissue banks, who in turn sold it to doctors and hospitals. Everyone in the loop made a profit for themselves.This guy apparently forged documents that reportedly created a paper trail showing that the family of the deceased had consented to the tissue harvesting and continued on with his murky deals.

What is next? Is it going to be human farms, breed people in order to kill and harvest their organs and tissues? Or would it be go to war with a nation so you can kill their citizens and harvest tissues? What will it be? I definitely don't want to guess!

The Murky side of tissue donation!

English: Logo of NPR News. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

When I got my drivers license renewed one of the questions in the form asked me if I wanted to be registered as an organ donor. Feeling righteous and thinking that my body will be helpful to fellow human beings even after my death I obviously ticked the box and enrolled as one. When I signed up I was not aware of how much money my body was worth and who would benefit from it. Now after listening to a series of news reports on National Public Radio I have become painfully aware of the sleazy market that exists in this country for human tissue "donations".

As I listened to the radio program I was shocked to know that the organizations that harvest tissue and organs from dead humans are actually "For Profit" corporations whose CEOs I am quite sure make millions off of salvaging dead bodies who sign up for donations thinking that some poor soul somewhere in the world would benefit. That is not true either. Most of these 'donated' tissues are used in cosmetic surgeries.

That is not all, there is a well oiled machinery in morgues across the world to harvest human tissues and sell it to these corporations who pass them on to doctors and hospitals in the US for a fee of course. Most of these dead bodies are scavenged without the permission or even knowledge of their families, clandestinely in morgues.

Since there is little or no regulation or tracking of these tissue grafts nobody knows whose organ is being transplanted on whom and who is making money.

I am amazed at the way corporations are cheating common people even in their death to make a few $$$. Wonder what it will be next, will there be human farms to harvest organs in third world countries like Sub Saharan Africa, and South & South East Asia??? I wouldn't be surprised if these corporations powered by their capitalist arrogance and greed attempt this.